Saturday, October 10, 2009

Review: The Silver Palate

Before there was a Food Network, Iron Chef, or even a Martha Stewart magazine, there was The Silver Palate. Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins may not be classical chefs, and they did not revolutionize restaurant cooking like Alice Waters or Thomas Keller, but they did more to change the way Americans cooked in their homes than anyone since Julia Child first trussed a chicken on t.v.

While much of the text and many of the recipes seem dated, it bears remembering that The Silver Palate was in the vanguard of America’s food revolution. This book was first published in 1979, which explains why the authors had to advocate the use of olive oil and explain things like raspberry vinegar, Gruyere cheese, and pesto.

Silver Palate recipes are not wildly innovative. Rosso and Lukins used a lot of old-timey, Junior League-type recipes and gave them enough New York City gloss to appeal to a new generation of home cooks. They simplified classics, gussied up gloppy casseroles, and tapped into the trend for high-quality fresh ingredients, creating a collection of recipes that are the kitchen standards of today.

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10 comments
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I always loved Silver Palate, even though I've never been much of a cook. I pulled out my old copy just now and found a piece of paper towel marking the page with the Rice and Vegetable Salad recipe that I used to make for faculty parties. Now that was a long time ago! Thanks for nudging me into a little walk down memory lane.

Joy -- Yes, reading this book made me horribly nostalgic. As much as Joy of Cooking, this is the book that taught me to cook. I mean like the day-in-day-out put dinner on the table kind of cooking that really builds memories.

I didn't know that Lukins died. I always think of both of them looking like they do on the back of this cookbook -- never growing older or getting sick.

Yeah. I have an old copy passed down from my mother in law, and it seemed very 70s to me. The recipes seemed difficult and/or time consuming- sort of special occaisony but old school. I never really use it. I got a great cake recipe in cooking school that was supposedly based on one of theirs but I couldn't even find it in the book.

Marie -- It seems very '80s to me, but that is because that was when I cooked from it the most. I was surprised to see a number of easy cake recipes (easy, to me, meaning no separating the eggs and beating the whites). I am planning on trying some.

I had a used copy of this when I was in college. I can't remember if I ever cooked anything from it, but I have vivid memories of reading it (I read cookbooks like novels). I think I have to look for it again if only for the nostalgia!

Caitlin -- My biggest reaction to reading this book was overwhelming nostalgia! It's nice to know that someone else reads cookbooks like a book. I occasionally read one cover to cover, like this one, and enjoy it tremendously.

RR -- Thanks for the note and for hosting the fantastic Spice of Life Challenge!

It is funny to think of the Silver Palate as being "traditional" because it was trying to be innovative (innovative with old standbys, at least) 30 years ago. But now those innovations are the traditions. For example, Julia Child (or my Nebraska Grandma) never made a "mini" quiche, but after 30 years of wedding receptions and graduation parties, mini quiches seem ubiquitous. Thanks, in large part, to Silver Palate, I think, for introducing the idea to home cooks. That's a random example that stuck in my head after reading the book.